Hawaii Happenings

Monday, February 8, 2016

Time flies when you aren’t paying attention to time. It’s already February. And it’s already 8 days since I wrote down anything about what we’ve been up to. For being a part of the United states, and therefor covered by my normal cell phone plan, I figured I’d stay more connected this week than on my normal wanders. Funny thing is, wifi is just as hard to come by in the US (arguably even harder) than in the foreign territories I’ve visited. While we were with Rob, staying in Kuleana resorts, we had wifi. But after Rob had to go back home, and we became the full time wanderers that we thought we’d be the whole trip, wifi was a luxury we seldom came across---not an issue to make phone calls, post pics, and make sure everyone at home got sufficiently annoyed with out sunshine photos---but an issue to type and post to the internet on a computer. Aj is a pro of cell-phone note-taking, but I’m not there yet (aka, I will NEVER be patient enough for that). So now it’s February 7th, Super Bowl Sunday, and I’m up in the air on Hawaiian airlines to San Diego. Missing the game (commercials), and with no free on board entertainment---vacation recap can begin.Jan 30th: We went out the night before to a super local bar, Nacho Grandes, and enjoyed our first cervezas of the trip, so it was a slow-er wake up. Sleeping pretty much outside, with only a wall of a sliding glass door between us and the ocean, our mornings start when the sun comes up. Rob has let us take over his living room where the pull out couch is, and we’re more than spoiled waking up to the sunrise, sound of waves, and today…rainbows! 7am patio party each day is the best way to start the day. Sorry in advance for all the future references of how great Rob is, but it’s bound to happen. Because someone who lets you invade their vacation and then serves you the ripest pineapple on HIS condo balcony is saintly and deserves all the thanks. We made another trip to the market for coffee and more samples and decided from everyones sluggish states that a beach day and some ocean were necessary. Kuleana resort is in Lahaina and on Kanapali beach, which is where they host some pretty amazing triathlete level water competitions. We didn’t see any of that going on, but now you know. I’ll also let it be known that the ocean is the number one hangover cure, I witnessed its healing powers. So satisfying to see everyone in our party back to their bubbly selves post dip. With new energy and a little bit of a cloud cover, we moved from the beach and decided to take Lucy (yes, we named our rental car) for a spin. I don’t know that there’s one best thing about Hawaii, or Islands in general, but up there on the best list is the coastal views. There is a road (technically a few) that goes around the perimeter of the Island.** Spoiler Alert**we drove the whole of it by the end of our trip!! The views are amazing and endless. So even with no plan (surprise surprise) of where we were going, we knew we at least had site-seeing wherever we went. We headed south from Lahaina and took in the views before spotting a fruit market on the side of the road. We stopped. The benefit of no plans. Mangos, avocados the size of cantaloupes, coconuts, oranges, papaya, starfruit, a fresh fruit and smoothie truck and MORE free samples. (Since I’m writing this 8 days later, I can tell you free samples is also a “thing” here on Maui. Every stop offers up banana bread (another amazing “thing” of maui), dried or candied coconut, tarro chips, and some kind of fresh fruit). I can also tell you the excitement of free samples never fades...unfortunately neither does willpower or restraint. So, samples aside, the market also had some colorful local characters. From the money man, sitting at his money box grunting orders to anyone close enough by and giving the stink eye to anyone who looked his way to the retired carnival worker who has now been living on the properties campground for 10 years and either already knows everyone that stops by or makes sure he knows you once you stop by to Trinity, the growers daughter who we found out has the same birthday (tomorrow) as Cara! It was a win of a stop, and we probably would have lingered around a bit longer if it weren’t for our noon-time lunch date. It seems that no matter where I go, someone knows someone who lives there. This time, it was my Grandma who gave me the name, number and address of her good friend Connie who she’s visited (and as Connie later informed me, partied with) in Maui on multiple occasions. I had called Connie in the morning to let her know I was on her Island and would love to meet if she had the time, and I hung up 2 minutes later with lunch plans at her and Grams old stopping grounds…a place called Leilanis. Apparently I look the same since I was 7 or 8 and apparently I have the worst memory ever, but Connie was able to spot me walking in (and it’s not like I stuck out…the place w as packed and with mostly tourists, so really I fit right in). We swapped some photos and stories and ate and drank and got some tips from her niece, Lisa, and left with new friends and the comfort of knowing we had another person on the Island looking out for us. The Aloha spirit is a real thing, and the smiles and kindness is beyond refreshing and fulfilling here. We still had the whole afternoon and a Lucy eager to drive, so we left lunch aimed to do some more exploring. Rob’s on a 5 year path to retirement and Hawaii property is part of his plan, so we headed off to the towns of Haiku and Paia to see what the “country” part of Maui was like. It’s beautiful. It’s also crazy how different the scenery can change in a matter of 30 minutes. We left beach and palms and found jungles and farms and crazy lush green rolling landscapes. The temperature dropped a few degrees, our ears popped a few times, and we found ourselves at the Haiku garden sanctuary. The place is essentially a green house but for the purpose of browsing and mediation and relaxation…not purchase. We got lost in its labyrinths (really, there were labyrinths) and by the time we left it was about dinner time. Back down the mountain and into the town of Paia, we found shops, bars, a local grocer, and a Flatbread Pizza! Way to go Flatbread, your pizza was perfect, and the restaurant vibe was exactly that of the ones at home. Was a little sad Jimmy’s Free Range wasn’t on the menu…but I suppose the whole “using local ingredients”thing is more important and impressive and made for the best Hawaiian pizza. Phew, what a day. My passengers all passed out on me during the adventure back, but there’s not so many views to be had in the dark, so no one missed anything. Last bedtime for Caz as a 25 year old!! Tomorrow, we celebrate the Birthday girl. January 31st—BIRTHDAY DAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAZZY!! #26 I’d like to say we had our agendas set for this momentous occasion, but that’s just not our style…even on birthdays. We woke up with the sun (Aj, Rob and I), but let the birthday get her extra sleep on. With intentions of birthday treats from the market…we headed out only to find the market closed. Minor hiccup, only to lead up in the grocery store in the same parking lot that also has all the samples and same famers market finds! Scored our birthday girl a coconut cake and birthday candle and made our way back to Rob’s place. What were our birthday girl’s wishes for the day? To the beach we headed! From the tips and recommendations we’d gathered, Big Beach on the south west side of the Island seemed to be the place to be on a Sunday day…mostly so you were in close proximity to climb the rock wall over to Little Beach for the evening drum circle and sunset party. We stopped at the farmers market from the day before to say Happy Birthday to Trinity, and then stopped again at the grocery store in Kihei to buy some birthday brews for the beach. Again, writing in review, I can tell you that Big Beach is my favorite of the beaches we visited on this trip. They are all beautiful, but this one was massive with expansive views both down the coast and across the water. The waves were calm, so it was perfect swimming and there was a breeze but not the wind we found on most of the other beaches. Where most beaches are prime as surf spots, this beach was top notch for lounging. We lounged like pros. Swam like mermaids. And did headstands like the gymnasts we wish we were. By 4ish we could hear the drums and see the parade of people making their climb over the cliffs to little beach. The experience of Little Beach Sunday Drums is something left to be experienced (or googled if you really want to know), and we stayed taking it all in until sunset and then dark. We walked back over the cliffs with the aid of cell phone lets and head lamps from the hoards of those filing out around us. We met someone from New Hampshire…with mutual friends…and an amazing voice. Cara got a little Birthday serenade on our walk back and we all got encouraged to apply for jobs on Norwegian Cruise lines---can’t say it’s not bookmarked in my phone now. We had separated from Rob for the day so he could explore more of Haiku and Paia but we were antsy to meet back up. We’ve got attachment issues. Still Cara’s bday and also Rob’s last night, so we made our way back to Nacho Grandes for more celebrations, and tacos, and jukebox, and new friends. We even had a magician for a bartender (Mikey) who taught us some cool bar tricks. By the time we made out way back home, it was almost midnight. Just the perfect amount of time for a nighttime ocean dip. Cara and Rob ran into the water and since I’m a wimp and had a minor panic attack, I looked up to the sky at the perfect second to see shooting stars! Good enough of an excuse for me to avoid the dark water with whales in it somewhere and park it on the sand to gaze up at the star show. Another magical end to another amazing day. Here’s to your 26th year CG <3Feb 1st: Rob’s last day :( I think us girls slept in late? (as in maybe 7 instead of 6) but I don’t really remember now. I know Rob had already scooted out to go get coffee because he came back as we were all getting ourselves together. Shockingly, we actually had somewhat of a plan for the day. We had been talk to go check out a spot called Nakalele Blowhole where the water has carved out a hole in the cliff rocks that creates a blowhole type spout of water every time a big enough wave crashes into the shore. The lookout is on the North/Northwest coast where we hadn’t traveled yet. From our free gas station map, we gathered the road was another portion of the windy, cliff-hugging, passages we’d be warned about. The map actually said that part of the road was not traversable and not for rental cars…but our lovely local bartenders at Nachos said that was false, and as long as we didn’t mind driving the narrow roads, we’d be fine. We’d bonded pretty well with Lucy so far and knew she could handle it, and cliff road driving sounded like an adventure to me (really I just want to be more like the crazy drivers of Peru). The max speed limit on all the outer roads of the Island seem to only go us to 45, so you don’t move to quickly around any corners anyways. We started heading up the coast, this time with the water to my (driver side) left. It was gorgeous. It’s hard not to stop at every pull off (so we pretty much stopped at them all). Quick in and outs of the car to take it all in and get a little closer to each view. You just want to be a part of each scene. It took about an hour to make it to the lookout, which to our not-so-much-surprise, had a stand with some more samples (this time banana bread, a toffee of some sort, coconut chips, and dried mango). The actual blow hole was far down the cliff with a trail that did lead to it, but we could watch it spouting perfectly from our spot up above and stayed put to look down on the water and out at the whales. We continued on our northernly route which gave us the inside lane when the road had two lanes. It was narrow and and windy and rock wall on one side with cliff drop off on the other. Lucy handles like a champ though and driving it was like being in your own video game. Thank goodness my passengers aren’t the car sickness type, because had I been anywhere besides my seat, I wouldn’t have been enjoying the ride one bit. (I was even getting slightly car sick in the drivers seat…so so windy). Age and Cara hung out the windows with go-pro and cameras and to take it all in. I wouldn’t begin to do this landscape justice in describing, so hopefully those pictures make it somewhere for everyone to see. The road took us up and up into the mountains again, and when we saw signs inviting us to an open art gallery, we stopped again. This private home also serves as a makers space and art gallery for a host of local artists. The studio area was amazing, covered from floor to ceiling with displays. Clay, to wood statues, metal welded works, oil paintings, jewelry, blown glass, tapestries…it was breathtaking. Art aside, the house was a masterpiece. Craftsman style with wooden shingles and multiple decks wrapping around. It sat up on the front of the property near the gate with the rest of the land slopping down the mountain leading into the most impressive views of the ocean below. There were gardens all down the slope with stone work AND THE BIGGEST GIRAFFE SCULPTURES! The artist who owns the house and studio is a sculptor who’s specialty is constructing massive drift wood and natural wood art pieces…his favorite being giraffes. Heaven. We wandered around for a bit before the first rain of our trip started sprinkling down on us. Time to venture on. The rest of the drive was even dicier as we curved our way down the mountain and started to run into more cars coming the opposite way. Don’t worry, no one was gasping or freaking out, so I think I was doing alright. We all made it safely and no one threw up. We found ourselves back in the center of the island and hungry. Poke, raw tuna, is one of the signature dishes here, and since it was Rob’s last day and he hadn’t tried it yet…it was a must. We made our way to the grocery store to eat Poke like the locals…straight from the deli. SO GOOD. That let you sample (I know, samples everywhere!) all the different seasoned varieties before you choose, so we had a poke appetizer pre poke meal. Our last stop for Robs lat night was Maui Brewing company to take a tour and do some tastings. The brewery, in the town of Kihei, is only a couple years old and about the same size as Redhooks facilities. We learned they distribute only in cans, feed all the cows with their used grains, and….. (we’re bad tour goers…only in it for the free samples). We stayed to use our free drink chips and lucked out because as we were finishing, live music was starting. So, we decided to stay put and we found ourselves listing to Hawaii’s top performer of the year! Johnny Ringo, the most impressive one man band I’ve ever seen. He was amazing and we were captivated for his full two hour set. Rob didn’t need to be to the airport until 10, so we hung out with Johnny after he wrapped up and chatted and swapped stories and lounged until we had to make our way to the airport. I don’t like saying goodbyes or writing about them. But I’m so happy our paths crossed and we definitely lucked out in meeting such and amazing soul. Now retire already so we can come visit you again in Hawaii :)

Friday, January 29, 2016

Aloha! It’s been about the quickest 41 hours I’ve ever experienced. 6 am Thursday morning I was in the car with Michael heading to the park and ride in epping. I hoped in the Govoni’s car and was chauffeured down to logan (thanks Cindy!) to catch our 9 am flight. The rest of the day was a blur of sitting in a whole bunch of odd and uncomfortable positions. 6 hours to San Fran (actually not terrible at all) on a very empty flight so Caz had a whole 3 seats to sleep in and Age and I had a row to ourselves to catch up for 5 hours (we read and blogged and slept too). Then the real fun began. The various exciting and ambitious plans we had for our 6 hour layover in San Francisco resulted in 6 very long hours of wandering the lovely terminal 2 San Fran: inclusive of vegan rice cake tastings, facial oil samplings, hallway headstands (and various stretches) a celebrity sighting (Lady Antebellum…you were in the San Fran airport around 3 pst, no?), and one very expensive lunch/dinner/food experience at one very delux fresh market within the impressive food court area of terminal 2. It was with a mixture of excitement and loathing that we boarded the plane at 5:35 (8:35 now at home time). We still didn’t exatly have plans as to where or what we would do once we landed in Maui, so we made a pact to try to talk to all our different seat mates and attempt to get lodging for once we landed. Yes, that sounds shady, but no, we weren’t even slightly phased.
There is something so very comforting about traveling with your friends. There is security in numbers and confidence in your combined ability to make things work. When we landed in Maui ( I miraculously slept away 4 of the 5.5 hours of the flight!) we realized how sleep deprived and still directionless we were. Still very unphased. We spent about 30 minutes watching the flow of travelers making their way to their final destinations while googling away potential taxis/car rentals/couch surfing opportunities (U.S. travel…uninhibited phone service!!!) We were strongly debating heading back into the airport to sleep for a bit when another backpack-wearing, weary looking traveler came towards us. He was looking to catch a taxi to his hostel and was hoping to split the price since taxis (along with most all things) are expensive on this Island. We didn’t have much to lose, so figured, why not…at least it was away from the airport (where we had learned was the most expensive place to rent a car). We made our way to the taxi van line, and another fellow came walking our way. The lost and confused tend to flock to each other. There was a lot of names of places being thrown out and even though we were speaking english, I couldn’t even attempt to spell where we were discussing. North island? West island? 15 minutes? 40 minutes? Where are we? Which way is the ocean? Oh right, we’re on an island. Yikes.
We climbed in the cab. At least we were 5 now right? Maxi, 27 and from Argentina, had a hostel reservation. Rob, 45 from Sacramento, had a condo. We? We had options. It’s hard to pow-wow when you are sitting in different rows of a van, but we got our esp going and started asking the right questions. We all seemed to agree both gentlemen’s vibes were good. Safe, friendly humans all around. So really, both options were sound. We made it to the hostel in 15 minutes, and Mario (our taxi driver who was becoming ever more chatty) encouraged us to stick around in the cab for the drive and condo experience. “You will wake up on a beach”, he said. SOLD. Phone number switch and goodbyes to Maxi and we were off to the unknown. 45 minutes later and almost at our destination, we learned Rob has his condo until Monday, he works for law enforcement back in California, and he’s got our back..already questing our future moves and safety.
Where are we? We still didn’t know at this point, but we had a gated condo community, security guard, and pullout couch to sleep on in an ocean front condo with the waves lapping the shore in greeting us to Maui. This is really happening. We made the bed, changed, and passed out in record time. I think it was probably 11:30 Hawaii time at this point…so that put us at 4:30 am home time. Holy long day!

I vaguely remember thinking I should set and alarm or I will never wake up, but that required too much energy. So it was a shock to find myself awake at 6:15, and relatively energized. Aj was already out on the Lanai taking in the wavs and early morning sun and I had to take a few minutes to place myself again as to where I was. Caz was sill snoozing next to me, and for as awkward as you might think it would be to wake up in someone else’s place, it felt incredibly relaxing and peaceful. Cara woke up and we were all out watching the water when Rob came out to join us. All of us were in awe of the view we could hear but not see from the night before. The water immediately below us, palm trees everywhere, a private sandy beach to the left and the mountain-outline of an island off in the distance. A real-life postcard. Want to be more jealous? Get ready…we saw giant sea turtles and whales splashing in the water!!

7 am and the whole day ahead. We spent a decent amount of time on wifi attempting to find a cheap rental car to no avail. We are in Hawaii….lets get outside! Upon Mario’s suggestion, we headed in the direction of the Lahaina famers market *maybe Kanapali? --- we’re still working out our location. Aj and Cara’s heaven…samples everywhere. Not only samples, but sellers literally pushing extra and then extra extra samples onto us. Thank you free breakfast. We wandered on a bit farther down the road until we made it to Mario’s second suggestion…Enterprise of Lahaina. Gracias Mario. Well, really gracias to our enterprice agent/secret informant who not only happened to be from Vermont, but also was friendly enough to clue us into the dark side of car rental. Inflammation because of demand…not all enterprises within the confines of the same island are priced equally.
Lahaina is a tourist mecca, and therefore in demand. Kihei, a town not even 30 miles away is more local and therefore half the price…and only a $4 bus ride away. Off to Kihei! Our bus venture was amazingly seamless and we had the pleasure of learning some state facts thanks to a rather colorful local. Did you know the state flower is a yellow hibiscus? Bird…the Nene. Mammal...the humpback whale. The flag has 8 stripes for the 8 islands.
We still don’t know where we are.

Enterprise is all about sending New Englanders to Hawaii apparently. Our lady in Kihei has been here for 8 months now, but is from NJ! Thanks to her, we got hooked up with our little lady for the trip…a 2015 Nissan Versa that gets 37 miles to the gallon! Can I take you home please? How liberating a feeling to be behind the wheel again. With Rob navigating, we found our way to Star Noodle. We don’t generally plan any of our travels around food, but this restaurant had been mentioned to all of us individually by many different sources…so it was a necessary stop. And a great recommendation it was. Pad Thai, kimchi, the freshest Ahi I’ve ever had. Thank you Hawaii for our first amazing meal. And thank you Rob for continuing to be our saint and treating us to a ‘birthday’ lunch. Your presence is beyond words.

We made out way back towards the condo in a happy food coma. Sunset and and cocktails were the only potential plans we had, so we stopped at the grocery store to check out the local beverage seen. Rum. Cheaper here than home. Who knew? Mai-Tai’s it is. Condo living provides plastic cups, ice cubes, and a stone walk-way to the beach. Hawaii provides sunsets and whales. We happily consume. It’s now 8:04pm here time. 1:04am home time. We continue to chat. New friends. New places. Warm weather. Waves.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

I want your life. I’m so jealous of your pictures. How do you afford so much travel? Don’t you get homesick? Where are you going next?

I love being able to share some of my travels with everyone via social media and phone calls/text/email/whatsapp etc. Up until this past trip, my communications have been mostly personal and well contained within my own social media bubble. Yes, I realize that sometimes this means friends of friends see my posts, and that extended family gets clued into my whereabouts, but its primarily my family and friends that I aim to stay connected with and keep involved. Partly because I want them to see the cool places I see, but also because I count on them to keep me grounded and not too homesick. The world is huge and sometimes I find myself on the complete opposite side of it than my family and friends, but being connected makes it feel so so so much smaller.

On my last trip, to Peru, I started blogging for the first time. I was writing on my computer by accident in a way, since I had forgotten a journal. I started jotting down bulleted sentences of times/places/expenses and then those bullets started turning into anecdotes and quotes and full sentences and then paragraphs. My notes naturally turned into story (because apparently I type like I talk and every little detail is accounted for).Well, the blogging just took off and recounting a days events was kind of fun and reflective and (and long and tedious and sometimes stressful), but the fun of it won out. I didn’t think I’d make it past day two, or day three, and then four—and well, it just became a thing. Where my pictures and texts seemed to stop circling with my near and dear, this blog was making the rounds. Totally embarrassing and very intimidating. I’ll be honest, I turned bright red when I read a comment from someone I didn’t even know who had read what I wrote. But there was also something so motivating in the realization that other people genuinely wanted to be a part of my (and really our whole groups) trip. Traveling is fun, and I know I’m super fortunate that I get to do it as frequently as I do. I’m lucky to have family that supports my wandering ways (and lets me come and go from my home at will), and a job at a restaurant as great as it is that takes me back year after year in-between my journeys. Travel, these last few years anyways, has been my motivation and it’s where I choose to invest my funds.

Sometimes I think I’m being careless, or not moving appropriately along the adult-hood path (what even is that?). I can totally see how my pictures evoke envy or awe, but just know that the ones you all post of your styled apartments, work parties, new houses, dogs and babies inspire in me very similar feelings. It’s a give and take. I LOVE new journeys and seeing new places and the freedom of being unattached and the thrill of the unknown. But it does mean forsaking things along the way. Like job security and a steady paycheck. My own apartment. Relationships. A clear future plan. I’m 100% at peace with the way I’m living my life, but I promise you (and maaany friends and family can attest) that this self-confidence is hard to hold on to. Don’t be jealous of pictures and travels, you have a whole lifetime to make them happen. And when you are ready to adventure yourself, I’ll gladly help you plan :) Or maybe I’ll just encourage you to be a little reckless and just go for it---

Generally speaking, I would say I’m a planner. I don’t always know what my next move will be as far as job or destination of travel. But I still try to plan things out: i.e. I have a wedding to attend on ___date. If I don’t want to be in the cold, I should be gone from ____ to ____. I know this person has some time off during ____ month, so I could try to get there then. I can spend approx $____ for the next 4 moths without going broke--- plans (ish). The worst part of this is that theres a lot of unaccounted for times where you start to doubt yourself and your ability to plan. The best part of this is that theres lots of unaccounted for times and you jump into unexpected adventures and find yourself on a plane headed to Hawaii.

Yes. That’s real. And really happening. I’m currently on Virgin Airlines enroute to San Fran to connect to another Virgin Airlines flight to Kahului, Maui. Aloha! To break down the chain of events real quick (and really, since this all happened within the last 18 hours…it’ll be quick), I landed in Boston from Peru Tuesday night. I took C&J home and for some reason felt compelled to unpack all my belongings and start laundry. Considering my state of exhaustion the allure of my bed and my general track record of living out of my suitcase for at least a week after I get home, I’m not sure where this motivation came from. I fell asleep roughly 11 pm Tuesday night, and a testament to my true level of exhaustion….I didn’t wake up until 3:45pm Wednesday afternoon. Whoops. I rolled over, taking a few seconds to place myself back home and in my own bed, before finding my phone to check the time. I wasn’t even upset it was so late. I had a few text messages checking on my alive-ness, and then a few more that read something like this.

“Will you be traveling when you get back? Or would you have any interest in going somewhere with me?”
Haha, Whats your plan? Are you packed? When do you leave?
“Tomorrow morning, we gotta leave at like 6”
Um, is your flight on Virgin Air tomorrow? I could fly with you for $200?!”
“Do not even get my hopes up!!!Thats what I paid. Look up road to Hana, we’re renting a car. I have emails and stuff people sent…air bnb…couch surfers…hike…waterfalls…please please please…”

How do you say No? My laundry was pretty much done, my empty pack was laying there open on my floor ready to be refilled, and it was a plan in place where as of that moment I had no other. So I assessed my money situation. Stressed a fair amount about whether this was too selfish/rushed/unintelligent, and then called my mom. I figured if she freaked out, it would make me second guess my possibly irrational eagerness to commit. I’ve mentioned before how I strongly believe in signs and things happening for a reason, and all these things being in place the way they were felt very appropriate. Maybe my mom would throw me off. She didn’t. She also reminded me to reassess my money situation, then inquired about my physical readiness to sit on a plane for another 19 hours (thanks for bringing that one up) and my level of preparedness for another few weeks away from home. Then she totally surprised me as excitement crept into her voice reminiscing about her times in Hawaii and how beautiful it is and throwing out places and landmarks I’ve never even heard of. Maybe I should have kicked off my travelbug ways back in the day with Hawaii and warmed her up to all these other travels?! Sorry mom!

So, all things lead to go. The website even used visa checkout (aka one click and POOF, money gone) so ticket buying happened in a second. It was then 6:00 pm---twelve hours until heading back to the airport. I’ve got to admit, this is by far the most impromptu venture I’ve ever made with the quickest packing job and least amount of thought, and I’m still waiting for the shock to set in…but honestly, I don’t think it will. It all just feels right and has moved too smoothly and I’m with my original travel friends once again. We have an hour til touchdown in San Fran and then a bit of a wait before out second leg. But by the time I sleep tonight, I will be in Maui---one of the most beautiful places one earth according to my Grandma (yes, she gave me the green light to go too <and would have come right along had it not been quite so last minute>) and, I suppose, officially taking a vacation from my vacation.

You can be a little jealous <3

Oh, and so sorry friends for the lack of communication the last few hours…I was a tad bit busy rushed and apologize for not filling you in on my plans….they are very much still in the works! I love you all dearly and will be back soon xoxo